Enrichment Quality Mark for Schools: What It Assesses, What It Costs and How It Works

Almost every school we visit offers more than it gets credit for. Clubs before school, a choir that meets in a corridor, a member of staff running football on a Tuesday for no reason other than that the children love it. Enrichment is often the part of a school that leaders are proudest of and least able to evidence.

The uncomfortable question is not whether you offer enough. It is who is taking it up. In most schools, the children who most need a reason to belong are the least likely to be in the room, and that pattern is rarely deliberate. It is usually about cost, transport, confidence, timing, or nobody ever having asked.

The Enrichment Quality Mark looks at both halves: the breadth of what you offer and the equity of who accesses it. It is an independent, externally assessed accreditation covering six areas, rating 36 standards, and producing a written report you can take to governors. This guide explains what is assessed, the three levels, what it costs, what happens before and after the visit, and how the framework aligns with the enrichment entitlement set out in the Schools White Paper and with the current inspection framework.

What is the Enrichment Quality Mark?

The Enrichment Quality Mark is one of ten School Quality Marks awarded by Jarvis Education. It assesses curriculum breadth, extracurricular opportunity, community partnerships and meaningful participation: the full picture of what a school offers beyond core academic study.

Every award is validated by an independent reviewer, and every report is quality checked by a senior member of the team before it reaches you. The framework covers 36 standards across six areas, each rated red, amber or green, with the award made at Established, Advanced or Leading level. It applies to primary, secondary, special schools, independent schools and alternative provision.

Why enrichment accreditation matters now

Enrichment has just moved from something schools do to something schools will be expected to guarantee.

The Schools White Paper published in February 2026, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, made a new enrichment entitlement for every child one of its headline commitments. The entitlement covers access to civic engagement, arts and culture, nature and outdoor activities, sport, and wider life skills. An Enrichment Framework is due to be published, and investment of around £22.5 million over three years has been committed to support up to 400 schools in the most deprived areas to meet it. The White Paper also confirmed a refreshed national curriculum for first teaching from 2028 that is intended to be knowledge rich, broad and inclusive, and a reformed Progress 8 giving greater weight to creative subjects.

Alongside that, the inspection framework introduced in November 2025 grades personal development and wellbeing as one of the six core evaluation areas on the report card. Curriculum and teaching is another. Enrichment sits across both, and the move to a secure fit approach means a broad offer described in general terms is worth less than evidence of who participates and what difference it makes.

There is also a simpler argument. Children who have a reason to belong come to school. The White Paper's commitment to monitoring pupils' sense of belonging by 2029 is not unrelated to its attendance ambition, and neither is unrelated to enrichment.

The six assessment areas

• Leadership and Vision. Strategy, equity of access, staff culture, governor oversight, communication with families and resourcing.
• Curriculum Breadth. Range of subjects, arts and creativity, physical education, STEM and digital, cultural education and access for pupils with SEND.
• Extracurricular Provision. Range and quality of clubs and activities, timing and accessibility, cost, staffing and sustainability.
• Pupil Participation. Take up data by pupil group, pupil voice in shaping the offer, leadership opportunities and who is missing.
• Partnerships and Community. Employers, cultural organisations, sports clubs, other schools, and whether partnerships change the offer or decorate it.
• Impact and Evaluation. What the school measures, what it does with what it finds, and whether enrichment is linked to attendance, belonging and outcomes.

Leadership and Vision in detail

Strategy. At Established, there is a clear rationale for the school's approach to enrichment and leaders can articulate it. At Advanced, enrichment is embedded in the improvement strategy and resources are allocated accordingly. At Leading, the enrichment vision is co-created with pupils and families. It is distinctive and ambitious.

Equity. At Established, leaders are aware that not all pupils access enrichment equally and intend to address it. At Advanced, there are active steps to remove barriers for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. At Leading, enrichment is demonstrably equitable, with participation data by pupil group.

Staff culture. At Established, staff understand the value of enrichment and support it within and beyond their subjects. At Advanced, staff actively contribute and see enrichment as part of their professional role. At Leading, staff lead enrichment innovation. New ideas are encouraged and resourced.

Governor oversight. At Established, governors are aware of the school's enrichment provision. At Advanced, governors scrutinise strategy and impact, particularly for disadvantaged groups. At Leading, governors are champions of enrichment and hold leaders to account for breadth, quality and equity.

Communication. At Established, families are informed about enrichment opportunities. At Advanced, families are actively encouraged to engage, with genuine effort to reach all families. At Leading, families help shape provision, and their input changes what the school offers.

Resources. At Established, resources are allocated to enrichment activities. At Advanced, allocation is strategic and linked to identified need and opportunity. At Leading, the school secures additional resource through funding, partnerships and community relationships.

Curriculum Breadth in detail

Range of subjects. At Established, the curriculum covers the core areas expected for the age range and school type. At Advanced, the curriculum goes beyond the minimum with genuine breadth. At Leading, the curriculum is distinctive and ambitious, reflecting the school's values and community.

Arts and creativity. At Established, pupils have access to arts, music, drama or creative subjects. At Advanced, creative subjects are well resourced and genuinely valued, not treated as secondary. At Leading, the arts are central to the school's identity, with regular high quality creative experience.

Physical education. At Established, PE is timetabled appropriately and taught well. At Advanced, PE goes beyond curriculum requirements and physical activity is promoted throughout the day. At Leading, physical activity is woven through school life, with demonstrable impact on health and wellbeing.

STEM and digital. At Established, pupils study science, technology or computing as part of the curriculum. At Advanced, STEM and digital education are current and ambitious, preparing pupils for a digital world. At Leading, the school leads in STEM or digital education, partnering with employers and industry.

Cultural education. At Established, pupils encounter arts, heritage and culture through the curriculum. At Advanced, cultural education is planned and sequential, reflecting the community and the wider world. At Leading, the school can demonstrate impact on pupils' understanding of themselves and the world.

Access for pupils with SEND. At Established, the curriculum is accessible to pupils with SEND. At Advanced, adaptations are planned rather than ad hoc, and pupils with SEND access genuine breadth. At Leading, the school is exemplary in curriculum design for pupils with SEND and shares its approach.

The remaining four areas follow the same structure, and the full framework is shared with you on registration.

How the scoring works

Each of the 36 standards is rated red, amber or green against the descriptors for your chosen level. Green means secure, consistent and evidenced. Amber means in place in parts but not yet secure across the school. Red means not yet in place or a significant gap. You rate yourself, your reviewer rates the same standards, and their ratings set the award.

The three levels explained

Established. No reds, at least 30 of 36 green, up to six ambers, no more than two in any area. This signals that a broad, well organised offer that pupils can access.

Advanced. Established met first, then at least 27 of 36 green against Advanced descriptors, no more than two ambers in any area. This signals that enrichment is strategic, equitable and evaluated.

Leading. Advanced met first, then at least 30 of 36 green against Leading descriptors, with impact beyond your own school. This signals that your enrichment practice is a model others learn from.

The step from Established to Advanced in this mark is usually about data. Most schools offer plenty. Fewer can show who takes part, broken down by pupil premium, SEND, gender, ethnicity and year group. That is the single most common reason a school sits at Established rather than Advanced.

What the Enrichment Quality Mark costs

Established is £1,350, with one reviewer, one day in school. The annual fee in years two and three is £250.

Advanced is £1,950, with one reviewer, one day in school. The annual fee in years two and three is £295.

Leading is £2,750, with two reviewers, one day in school. The annual fee in years two and three is £350.

Figures are a guide, so please confirm current fees before budgeting.

Established includes the self evaluation tool for all six areas, one named reviewer, a full day visit, a written report, the award and digital badge, and the annual document check in years two and three. Advanced adds a governor conversation, commendations and a directory listing. Leading adds a second reviewer and an annual impact summary.

Group and trust pricing

Discounts apply for groups: 2 to 4 schools at 15%, 5 to 9 at 22% and 10 or more at 30%.

Groups receive an overview report and a group wide training session. Enrichment is a good candidate for a group review, because trusts often find that one school has built something excellent that nobody else knew about.

How many days on site?

One day, with one reviewer at Established and Advanced and two at Leading. Because your reviewer reads everything in advance, the day is spent watching, talking to children and testing participation data rather than collecting basics.

Where possible we schedule the visit on a day when clubs actually run. It sounds obvious. It is worth saying, because a visit on a day with no extracurricular activity makes half the framework harder to evidence.

What happens before the visit

• Register and choose your mark and level. We confirm your named reviewer and next steps, after a short call if you want help deciding.
• Complete your self evaluation. The framework tool covers all six areas. Most leaders spend eight to twelve hours across a few weeks, drawing together what already exists.
• Send your evidence at least two weeks ahead. For enrichment this usually includes your curriculum overview, the timetable of clubs and activities, participation data if you hold it, trip and residential records, partnership agreements, pupil voice records and anything you use to evaluate impact.

If you do not hold participation data broken down by pupil group, say so honestly in the self evaluation. It is one of the most common gaps and it is far better addressed openly than discovered.

What the visit day looks like

• 8.45 Reviewer arrives and gets set up
• 9.00 Meeting with the headteacher and the enrichment or curriculum lead
• 9.30 Lesson visits across different year groups, with a focus on curriculum breadth
• 10.30 Document review: curriculum plans, activity timetables, participation data and partnership records
• 11.00 Pupil group, six to ten children including some who do not take part in anything
• 11.45 Staff conversations with subject leads and staff who run activities
• 12.30 Lunch, including observation of lunchtime provision, and further document review
• 1.00 Governor or trustee meeting at Leading level, senior leader conversation at Established and Advanced
• 1.30 Family conversations, at least three families, in person or by phone
• 2.00 Reviewer write up and cross checking of the self evaluation
• 3.00 Feedback to leadership, covering findings and a provisional level

The pupil group is deliberately mixed. Talking only to the children who do everything tells you what the offer looks like at its best. Talking to a child who has never stayed after school tells you why.

What happens after the visit

Your report arrives within around ten working days, quality checked before it reaches you, covering all six areas with specific recommendations and written for a governing body audience.

If awarded, your digital badge carries your school's name and level and is supplied as high resolution PNG and scalable SVG for use on your website, in email signatures, and on prospectuses, newsletters and reports to parents. At Advanced and above you are listed in the accredited settings directory.

The award lasts three years, with a document check in years two and three and no visit.

How the Enrichment Quality Mark aligns with the inspection framework and DfE guidance

The enrichment entitlement. The Schools White Paper 2026 committed to an enrichment entitlement for every child covering civic engagement, arts and culture, nature and outdoor activities, sport and wider life skills, with an Enrichment Framework to follow. The six areas of this quality mark are built around exactly those domains plus the participation and evaluation evidence that will make the entitlement meaningful rather than notional.

The 2025 inspection framework. Personal development and wellbeing is a graded evaluation area on the report card, and curriculum and teaching is another. Inspectors look for a broad, ambitious curriculum and for personal development opportunities that reach all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. Under the secure fit approach, participation evidence carries weight that a list of clubs does not.

Curriculum reform. The refreshed national curriculum for first teaching from 2028 and the proposed changes to Progress 8, giving greater weight to creative subjects and requiring study across languages, creative subjects and humanities, both point towards breadth. Schools that can already evidence a broad, sequenced offer will adapt more easily.

Pupil premium. The Impact and Evaluation area addresses how enrichment spending for disadvantaged pupils is planned, tracked and evaluated, which is a recurring weakness in pupil premium strategy statements.

Cultural capital and belonging. The White Paper's expectation that schools will monitor pupils' sense of belonging by 2029 connects directly to enrichment. Belonging is built in the choir, the team and the trip at least as much as in the classroom.

Independent schools. For independent schools, the Independent School Standards require the curriculum to give pupils experience in linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical and aesthetic and creative education. This framework maps onto those requirements while going considerably further.

This is an independent accreditation against a published framework rather than a DfE or Ofsted award, and it does not replace inspection.

From Our Experience

We often see schools with a genuinely impressive offer and no idea who is using it. A list of thirty clubs sounds excellent until you look at the registers and find the same forty children on all of them.

Many leaders tell us that the participation data was the finding that changed their thinking. One secondary we worked with discovered that pupil premium take up of extracurricular activity was under a third of the rate for other pupils, and that almost all of the gap disappeared when they moved three clubs from after school to lunchtime. That was not a funding problem. It was a bus timetable problem.

We also see enrichment collapse when a member of staff leaves. Schools that recover well usually have provision that belongs to the school rather than to an individual, with a named leader, a budget line and a plan for succession.

One of the most common challenges in special schools and alternative provision is that enrichment is assumed to be harder. In our experience it is not harder, it is different, and some of the most imaginative provision we see is in AP settings where staff have had to build everything from scratch.

Common Misconception

"Enrichment is what we do after the real work."

That framing costs schools more than they realise. Enrichment is where a lot of children discover that they are good at something, where they build the relationships that make them want to attend, and where they encounter the world beyond their postcode. The White Paper's decision to make it an entitlement rather than an aspiration reflects a growing evidence base connecting participation to attendance, behaviour and belonging.

A related misconception is that enrichment means expense. Some of the strongest provision we assess costs very little. What it requires is planning, a named person and honest data about who is turning up.

Questions for Leaders

• Which children in our school do nothing beyond lessons, and do we know who they are by name?
• What is our extracurricular participation rate for pupil premium pupils compared with everyone else?
• If a family cannot afford a trip, what actually happens, and would a parent know?
• Which of our activities would stop tomorrow if one member of staff left?
• When did pupils last change what we offer?
• Can we say what difference our enrichment offer has made, or only what it consists of?

Our Perspective

The strongest schools treat enrichment as part of the education rather than a reward for getting through it. Children remember the residential, the production, the match and the trip long after they have forgotten the scheme of work, and for some children those experiences are the reason they stayed.

An external review will not tell you to do more. It is more likely to tell you that you already do plenty, and that the work now is making sure it reaches the children who are currently missing it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do we need to hold participation data before we start? No, but it will affect the level. If you do not have it, the report will tell you how to build it, and many schools use that as their first improvement step.

Can special schools and alternative provision take this mark? Yes. Reviewers adjust what they expect to see. What does not change is the question of whether every child gets access to something meaningful.

Should we schedule the visit on a particular day? Ideally on a day when your usual activities run. We will ask about this when we agree the date.

How long does the whole process take? Typically six to ten weeks from registration to report.

How much staff time does it take? Eight to twelve hours for the self evaluation across a few weeks, plus the visit day.

What if we do not achieve the level we applied for? Your reviewer discusses it with you at the feedback session. Schools that narrowly miss are usually awarded the level below with a clear route to the next.

Is this a DfE or Ofsted accreditation? No. It is an independent judgement against a published framework.

How Can Jarvis Education Help?

Jarvis Education is a school improvement consultancy founded and led by a former His Majesty's Inspector, working with schools, academies, trusts, independent schools, alternative provision and local authorities.

If you want to know whether your enrichment offer is reaching the children who need it most, and to be ready for the enrichment entitlement when it lands, the Enrichment Quality Mark gives you an honest answer and a practical plan.

Register your school or book a call.